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December 2005
Bureaucracy, Finance, Industry, Media, Politics, Transport There’s still plenty of weird shit happening down in the sewers this month, despite specialists being brought in by The Consortium to deal with the situation. Emergency funding has been granted to attempt to rectify the situation with contractors undertaking remedial structural works to prevent further collapses and extra pumping stations being developed across the city in order to keep water moving. The problems have now been attributed to a combination of factors, unprecedented rainfall and subsidence being the two main contributors to the issue. Local councillors have commented that the problem will have been rectified by the New Year, but note that it will have a significant effect on the city’s transportation network over the Christmas period. Police, Street, Underworld ''' Heard what happened to Ricky “The Rat” O’Conner? He got caught on the job by The Constabulary breaking into some fancy office development and tried to escape through the sewers. Of course The Constabulary didn’t give chase, after all, they’re not stupid, but maybe old Ricky thought his luck would hold out down there until he could get to the next manhole, but I guess luck wasn’t with him that night. The Constabulary found him in the end, three days later his body washed up in the marina at Etruria, or at least what was left of it did. Way I heard if he hadn’t had his name sewed into his underpants he’d still be listed as John Doe. '''Occult, Street Have you seen the spiral, the dark, shape drilling down into the earth? Deeper and deeper it goes, always down, never up, always forward, never back. They say that when a man allows himself to follow the spiral he will see a dark reflection of his soul at the bottom and be driven mad by it, but for those men that aren’t there is no hope; they are lost and shall never return. ~ Unidentified Loon, Hanley Bus Station. Media, Police, University Rumour control, The Constabulary is not, repeat, not liaising with Staffordshire Universities Physics Department with regards to finding a solution to the sewer problem. The problems have now been attributed to structural failures and unprecedented flooding. There aren’t any “Inter-dimensional Rifts” or such as reported in some elements of the media, nor is it the side effect of “Dark Magic”. We must strive to maintain calm in what is a perfectly normal situation. ~ John Winters, Chief Constable of The Constabulary. High Society, Occult, Street How does it feel to treat me like you do? / When you've your hands upon me / And told me who you are / I thought I was mistaken / I thought I heard your words Tell me, how do I feel / Tell me now, How do I feel. Those who came before me / Lived through their vocations / From the past until completion / They'll turn away no more / And I still find it so hard / To say what I need to say But I'm quite sure that you'll tell me / Just how I should feel today. I see a ship in the harbour / I can and shall obey / But if it wasn't for your misfortune / I'd be a heavenly person today / And I thought I was mistaken / And I thought I heard you speak / Tell me how do I feel / Tell me now, how should I feel. Now I stand here waiting / I thought I told you to leave me / While I walked down to the beach / Tell me how does it feel / When your heart grows cold. ~ New Order. Media, Police, Underworld The Consortium continues its grasp for power, consolidating its interests in the Shelton area whilst attempting to stretch into other areas. It faces stiff competition however from the newly reorganised Gambinos and the possibility that the Daughters of the Desert may still be operating in the city. In fact the only gang no ones heard from recently is the Sandernacht Group, but you would have to be a fool to write them off. Media, Occult, Street It appears that many are still searching for a connection between The Consortium and “The Guardian” as the latter continues to keep the streets free from crime whilst turning a blind eye to the behaviour of the former. Rumour has it that both elements of the criminal fraternity and The Constabulary are now keen to capture the vigilante (although they had little success in capturing his predecessor, The Samurai) to prevent a growth in vigilantism on the streets of the city. It is also rumoured that The Guardian may now have a sidekick, after video footage of him (?) in action followed by a second, smaller individual were taken by The Constabulary. Street, Underworld Whilst they have floundered for a couple of months, the Gambinos seem to have regained some ground over the last few weeks after rumours that an unnamed individual had wrestled control of the company from a number of minor gang leaders in the operation. Whilst a full and normal service has yet to resume, it has been noticed that they have been subject to fewer attacks by outside parties since these rumours began to emerge. Far more interesting are the rumours that they may brokered a deal with The Consortium, although understandably neither group has been available to comment on whether this is true or not. Still, with The Consortium continuing to gain ground a potential merger of the two gangs could see them becoming the second largest gang in the area after The Sandernacht Group. Police, Underworld The Constabulary continues to post additional patrols to the Kidsgrove area in an attempt to prevent the Gambinos from gaining a foothold again, although if the recent rumours of new management in the gang are to be believed this could be too little, too late. Whatever the gang situation, the increase in police activity has had a noticeable effect on recorded crime in the area, with incidents showing a five percent drop over the last two months. High Society, Media A new journal documenting the weird and the wonderful in the city of Stoke has just been launched. The Inquisitor, a privately published forum for news and ideas, is the first new news publication of its type in the city since the formation of The Reporter. Whether it will be a success remains to be seen, sales are limited at present, but it is hoped that this will change. More worrying is whether it can maintain a level of quality or will it descend into National Inquirer inspired madness? High Society, Media, Occult Whilst new sources for news in the area are always to be welcomed, many in the media industry have expressed surprise that a journal of the “esoteric and the strange” has been set up in the city. Will there be enough stories to maintain issues? You’d better believe it, Stoke is well on its way to reclaiming its title as one of the planets top ten weirdness magnets, and the formation of a newspaper of the strange will only bolster the figures. Church, High Society, Media, Politics, University Work has begun on the construction of the memorial for the Keele students killed in Werrington Woods earlier this year. In a short ceremony to mark the event, the Dean of the university was joined by representatives of the students’ communities in a service of thanksgiving for their lives. A ceremonial spade whose aft was made from wood taken from Werrington was used to make the first cut. Works are due to be completed in the New Year. Occult Oh cool deep water, oh still born trees, bear witness to the restless spirits of the woods and take them safely to the other place. Let them rest deep in the arms of a favoured book, safe from all and watching over us once more. ~ Caoilfhionn Ashen, Staffordshire Moorlands. Industry, Media, Police, Politics Rumours of an environmental terrorist group continue to circulate following further attacks on petrol stations across the city despite protection being provided by The Constabulary. In each case the attack occurs shortly after opening with a single individual throwing a petrol bomb at the pumps before speeding away on a bike. No reason for the attacks has yet been developed, but The Constabulary is rumoured to be investigating possible links with a move to increase petrol prices up across the city and force people to use alternative methods of transport. Bureaucracy, Media, Politics Richard Speight, the head of the Planning & Environment Department for the local council has asked for a review of all current applications to see if they are in line with current European policies on the environment. The move, which has shocked many in the city, has the full backing of the current administration; they are keen to improve the quality of the built environment in the city. All current applications will be subject to a further months review before any decision is made. Bureaucracy, Police, Politics Richard Speight has been targeted an environmental terrorist group, the same one thought to be responsible for the attacks upon a number of petrol stations across the city. Mr. Speight received a note from the group threatening both him and his family if he did not stop any future industrial developments in the city, and downgrade commercial areas to residential areas and residential areas to parkland. Mr. Speight was warned not to contact The Constabulary, but instead has agreed to be part of a sting operation designed to capture the terrorists. Additional security is to be provided to all councillors involved in environmental matters until the situation is resolved, although it is imperative that the operation remain low key in order to prevent the terrorists from becoming aware of the intentions. Bureaucracy, Health, Legal, Media, Politics Funding for the rehabilitation of former Milk addicts through the charitable organisation “House” has been doubled following contributions by both Audax and Asharaka to the program. The program will focus on reducing dependency on the drug and work placement in exchange for suspension of any charges provided they remain on the program. The project has been opened to twenty individuals initially, but it is hoped that if it is a success further addicts will be brought into the program.